Applications are now open for students in financial need or from underrepresented groups to apply for the Royal College of Arts (RCA) Scholarship in UK.
Under the RCA Scholarship, over 400 financial awards are available for the 2024/25 academic year. These awards support students with financial needs and those from underrepresented groups, including students with disabilities and students with refugee and asylum seeker status.
RCA scholarship Benefits
RCA scholarships provide various forms of financial support:
Full fee payment plus living costs
Partial fee payment
Contributions to living costs
NOTE: most of RCA scholarships are for UK (Home) students that belong to the groups mentioned above, however, international scholarships are also available depending on availability.
Two Routs to land the scholarship
1). Academic Merit:
Several scholarships are available for high-scoring students, automatically assessed during Round 1 and 2 programme applications for MA, MFA, MDes, MRes, MArch, and MEd.
2). Financial need or being part of an under-represented group in higher education:
This includes students from underrepresented groups in higher education or those experiencing financial hardship. Applications are evaluated based on criteria such as:
Means-tested student funding or scholarship support
Means-tested government benefits
Unavoidable financial hardship
Disability or chronic health conditions
Refugee or asylum status
Care experience
Primary caring responsibilities
Career change or return to work after a break
Application Process
• Round 1 and 2 Applicants:
a). Priority Eligibility Questions: Applicants are asked about their financial background, disabilities, caring responsibilities, and other factors indicating financial need or disadvantage.
b). Personal Statement Questions: Applicants must provide short statements (150 words each) on their background, financial planning, the benefits of the scholarship, and future career goals.
• Round 3 Applicants:
Limited scholarships may still be available, mostly for specific programmes or personal circumstances, primarily for UK students. Updated information will be provided from June 2024.
• Graduate Diploma and PhD Applicants:
Information about scholarships for Graduate Diploma programmes starting in September 2024 will be provided soon.
PhD applicants should contact (studentships@rca.ac.uk) for details on Doctoral Training Grants and other funding options.
*The RCA's definition of disadvantage may help you to compose your answer to the first personal statement question:
Experience of discrimination or disadvantage based on ethnicity or other protected characteristics
Refugee or asylum status
Type of school and education opportunities experienced
Growing up in social housing
Caring responsibilities
Having experience of being in care
social class
Parental or carer occupational background and educational attainment
receipt of state benefits or experience of unemployment (either yourself, or parent, or carer)
Lack of access to professional and supportive networks
Receipt of means-tested, state-assisted undergraduate funding.
Application procedure
Further opportunities will become available from June 2024. To stay in the loop, mark the following:
For more details, you can contact: